In subscriptions to the enhanced Geographic Assessor, users can modify these assumptions in the Two City Comparison and Comparison List - COL table:
•Number Owned Field (Automobiles)
•Total Value Field (Automobiles)
•Miles Per Year Field (Automobiles)
•Total Cost of Living (Total Cost = Earnings)
ERI default assumptions are based on ongoing ERI research staff analysis of methodologies best designed to produce average estimates. In addition, ERI researchers and data analysts are constantly reviewing new sources of data for possible inclusion in modeling. ERI encourages subscribers to customize the ERI defaults parameters in any expenditure category where there is information available for a specific cost-of-living situation. For example, if the specific price of the home is known, that price can be entered into the Estimated Home Value field. The Geographic Assessor is designed to recalculate cost-of-living differentials on as much specific data as the subscriber desires to use as input.
Please note: To return to the default value for a particular field, click the 
button in the modified field. To return to the default values for all fields, click the 
button at the top of the Options panel.
See Two City Comparison - Background for more information.
To Modify Assumptions in the Comparison List - COL
1.Turn on the Disable Default Assumptions toggle in the Options panel. Assumptions will be activated in the Options panel and can be modified.
2.Modify assumptions in the Options panel. The modified assumptions will be applied to all salary levels in the main table.
Note: Cost-of-living estimates are not available for home ownership in international locations. When the base location is set to an international location (not the U.S. or Canada), the Own or Rent Field cannot be modified (Rent is selected). The remaining assumptions in the Options panel can be modified. When the base location is set to a location in the U.S. or Canada AND home ownership is selected in the Own or Rent Field, then any international locations (not the U.S. or Canada) in the main table will not display cost-of-living estimates.
To Use Default Assumptions in the Comparison List - COL
1.Turn off the Disable Default Assumptions toggle in the Options panel. Assumptions will be deactivated (displayed in grey) in the Options panel and cannot be modified.
2.Click on the 
tool tip in each column header in the main table to view Default Assumptions specific to each salary level (the default assumption is home rental).
Using Modified Assumptions:
Using Default Assumptions:
Contact ERI to subscribe to the enhanced Geographic Assessor.